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Principe Benedetto Maria of Sardinia
Duc de Chablais
(1741–1808)
 
Other names: Benedetto Maria Maurizio

Biographical

Marchese d'Ivrea 1796
Duc de Chablais, substantive 1741–63; 1763–96
Signore di Agliè 1763
Signore di Bairo 1763
Signore di Ozegna 1763
Signore di Borgomanero 1763
Signore di Cureggio 1763
Signore di Trino 1763
Signore di Desana 1763
Signore di Crescentino 1763
Signore di Riva di Chieri 1763
Signore di Bene 1763
Signore di Ghemme 1763
Signore di Pollenzo 1763
Signore di Tricerro 1763
Signore delle Apertole 1763
Signore di Centallo 1763
Signore di Brà 1760

Governor of the towers of Sardinia 1799 res.

For his education, the young Benedetto was placed in the hands of Giambatista Beccari, the physicist, and for military matters, Alessandro Vittorio Papacino d'Antoni was appointed as his tutor. His relationship with his brother, Vittorio Amedeo, heir to the throne of Sardinia, became strained when their father granted Benedetto extensive lands in 1763, and an annual income of 400,000 lire. These holdings were set up in a way that established a series of fiscal and juridical privileges unprecedented in recent Savoy history that they were referred to as almost a small feudal state. Additionally, Benedetto was granted by his father, the inheritance of Princess Victoria of Savoy-Soissons, heiress of Prince Eugen, and the castle d'Agliè was purchased for him in 1763-1764, along with a number of fiefdoms. It was proposed that he marry the niece of his uncle, the Emperor Francis I, however it was deemed inappropriate for a daughter of the Emperor to marry a prince who was not a ruler, and so a search was made to allocate Benedetto a state to rule. Amongst the possibilities included Corsica; the states of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola; Tyrol; a state comprising of the imperial fiefdoms from the Langhe to Tuscany; the duchy of Liguria. Benedetto was sent to Innsbruck to begin negotiations, however, the Emperor died suddenly in August 1765, and Benedetto returned home empty handed. The Empress Maria Theresa then proposed that he marry her daughter, Maria Elisabeth, regardless of him not being ruling prince, but the young Maria Elisabeth contracted smallpox and was disfigured, and the plans were interrupted. The death of Carlo Emanuele III 1773 put an end to Benedetto's ambitious marriage plans. The new king, Vittorio Amedeo III, established his own court at Chablais, allowed Benedetto to live in a wing of the Royal Palace, and had him marry his own daughter, Maria Anna. From then on, Chablais became politically insignificant, although it maintained its important military positions. The Peace of Cherasco in 1796 ceded Savoy to France. Benedetto lost Chablais, and assumed the title of Marquis of Ivrea. In 1798, he was forced to leave Piedmont, along with his wife, and they arrived at Sardinia the beginning of 1799, but left by August that year for Rome. In 1801 they fled the advancing French armies and stayed at Caserta with the rest of the royal family. In the following year Charles Emmanuel IV abdicated, and Benedetto returned to Rome with his wife. The new king, Vittorio Emanuele I, reduced the allowance Benedetto and his wife had enjoyed since it was granted by Carlo Emanuele III which provoked a harsh reaction from them, and they refused to return to Sardinia, despite the King's wishes. Additionally, France annexed his holdings, despite Benedetto's pleas, because he refused to recognise France's claim to Piedmont. After befriending Lucien Bonaparte in Rome, Benedetto and his wife left for Florence in 1805. Benedetto's plan was to go to Milan because, he believed, conditions would be favourable to him after Napoleon's crowning as king of Italy. Aware of his intentions, Vittorio Emanuele warned him that his royal prerogative would be cut off completely if he went to Milan. Benedetto instead made a new plea to France for the return of his assets in France. Napoleon himself rejected his request as Benedetto still refused to relinquish his claim to the throne of Savoy and to recognise Piedmont as belonging to France. Benedetto returned to Rome in 1806, and purchased a palace in Piazza Paganica and the estate of Tor Marancia, on via Ardeatina. He spent his last days in that city.

Place of birth: Turin
Place of marriage: Chapel of the Shroud, Turin
Place of death: Rome
Place of burial: Church of San Nicola di Tolentino; transferred to the Basilica of Superga in 1926

Son of King Carlo Emanuele III of Sardinia and Princess Elisabeth of Lorraine. He married his niece, Princess Maria Anna of Sardinia in 1755, and had no issue.

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